The proposed meeting to be held at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on "Axon Guidance, Synaptogenesis, and Neural Plasticity" on September 10 - 14, 2008 will assemble leaders in the field, junior faculty, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students to discuss new, cutting-edge developments in the field. This proposal seeks support for the sixth of a biennial series of meetings held at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory that has emerged as the premiere meeting for this field. Topics to be discussed for the 2008 meeting will include: i. the identification and characterization of guidance signals and their receptors; ii. the dissection of the signal transduction machinery that translates activation of receptors into changes in motility; iii. the identification and characterization of signals that regulate synapse formation and synaptic specificity; iv. the identification of the signaling mechanisms by which neuronal activity sculpts patterns of synaptic connectivity; v. mechanisms of neuronal polarity and dendritic patterning; vi. the relationship between mechanisms that mediate development of neural circuits and behavior. Diverse experimental approaches (including cell biology, biochemistry, genetics, and electrophysiology) and systems (including various vertebrate and invertebrate model systems for investigating neural connectivity and function) will be highlighted. Given the diverse approaches currently employed in this field, communication among workers is essential to advance research and understanding of fundamental mechanisms that regulate wiring of the nervous system. Oral presentations will be selected by the session chairs in consultation with the organizers. Each session will be chaired by two leading scientists in the field. Selected speakers will include graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty. Two special lectures will be presented to provide essential background critical to stimulating discussion between scientists working on related but distinct areas. There will also be three poster sessions where a majority of participants can present their work. The meeting will be of moderate size, and we expect 300-350 neuroscientists in attendance. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Axon guidance is the subfield of brain development focused on how nerve cells send out axons to reach the correct targets. Axons often follow very precise paths in the nervous system, and how they manage to find their way so accurately, remains a major puzzle. Upon reaching their targets, axons form synapses (a process called synaptogenesis) with other nerve cells. It is now clear that there is a high degree of dynamic behavior or plasticity at the level of individual synapses, a process that may play an important role in how we learn and remember. This conference of international scientists will meet to discuss the latest research in this important field. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]